MADISON, Wisconsin: Rhode Island had two U.S. House seats on the ballot in 2012. Both incumbents from the two districts sought re-election on November 6, 2012, and won re-election. Though David Cicilline faced strong opposition from Republican candidate Brendan Doherty, he was still able to win and keep control of both seats in the Democrats' hands.

National picture

Both chambers of the United States Congress remain split after the November 6, 2012 election. Democrats increased their majority in the U.S. Senate while cutting into the Republicans majority in the U.S. House.
Of the 435 candidates who won election to the U.S. House, 85 of them were challengers, which represents 19.5 percent of U.S. House members. Of those 85, 50 are Democratic and 35 are Republican. A total of 27 incumbents were defeated -- 10 Democratic and 17 Republican.

2012 United States House General Election Results

Party

Total Winners

Incumbent Winners

Defeated Incumbents

Incumbent Re-Election Rate**

Non-Incumbent Winners

Democratic

201

151

10

93.8%

50

Republican

234

198

17

92.1%

35

TOTALS

435

349

27

92.8%

85

**Note: The incumbent re-election rate is calculated by dividing the total incumbents winners by the total incumbents who appeared on the general election ballot.